


Small Scales And Snowflakes

by Toffyy, toopliss_chewtoy



Series: HiJack Week 2020 [3]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: A few OC side-characters sprinkled into this universe, As kids! - Freeform, Dragonborn!Hiccup, HiJack Week 2020 (How to Train Your Dragon/Rise of the Guardians), M/M, all wholesome and cute and pure, prince!jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28134336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toffyy/pseuds/Toffyy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/toopliss_chewtoy/pseuds/toopliss_chewtoy
Summary: When Hiccup hears there is a circus in town, he just /has/ to take Jack there. There is only one problem... a young crown prince isn't exactly allowed to just walk out of the castle, is he?
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood)
Series: HiJack Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059443
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	Small Scales And Snowflakes

**Author's Note:**

> This was based of an RP between Toffyy and me, done for HiJack week 2020 day 3: Royal/Servant AU. Hic is close enough to a servant ;) It takes place in the same universe as White Scales, only now they're kids. You don't need to read White Scales first to understand this! But if you're hooked on the AU, you know where to find more :D

Hiccup's little legs were moving fast. He was dashing through the stone hallways, past tapestries and doors and closets, crossing spots of sunlight coming in through the windows. Almost there! When he rounded a corner, two servants were coming towards him. Despite his haste, he stopped, his boots skidding over the tiles, and stood aside. 

Would he have been able to dash past them? Of course. With ease. He could run through a crowd just fine... but not without slapping everyone with his wings and tail. Too much grumbling came from that.

"Hello Hiccie," said the older servant. Hiccup grimaced but looked away timidly. He didn't like the nickname.

Once past, Hiccup ran off again. He skidded to a stop in front of a heavy wooden door and grabbed the handle, about to barge in like a scaly whirlwind. It was already unlatched when he remembered the proper rule, and he pulled the latch closed again. He took a deep breath, trying to not appear panting like crazy for his best friend, and knocked.

Prince Jackson looked up from the huge book he was forced to read, his ears perking up. He had heard the latch being moved before the knock, so it was easy to guess who was behind the door. 

The Queen smiled softly and looked at Jack, then at his teacher. The older man looked annoyed, but his face softened once the Queen's blue eyes focused on him. Everything he could do was sigh and nod, knowing the woman had a soft spot for the scaly rascal. 

"Come in!" she called out, and Jack felt like bolting through the door already.

Hiccup pushed the door open a little too hard, and it hit the table that was against the wall. He didn't pay attention though and darted into the room. 

"Jack, Jack, Jack! I heard the servants talking about-" once again etiquette rules caught up with his excitement, and he stopped and bowed to the Queen. "Your Highness. Sir. How do you do?" Then his eyes were fixed on his friend again, eager to tell him why they just had to get out of here right now. 

Jack couldn't help but grin, bouncing in his seat, ready to bolt through the door with Hiccup. He also heard the sigh behind him - the teacher was clearly even more annoyed now that he heard Hiccup use the wrong title to greet the Queen and completely forgot about greeting Prince Jackson. 

Too bad for him and lucky for them, the Queen didn't care. Hiccup made her son laugh and enjoy himself, and that was all that mattered.

"If Hiccup is so excited, I'm sure it can't wait, Jack." Queen Ceri smiled softly, something mischievous in her eyes. "I'll make sure he studies twice as hard next lesson." 

Hiccup's eyes lit up and his tail flopped up and down in pure excitement. Jack didn't even wait for the teacher to answer, he just slipped out of his seat and grabbed Hiccup's hand to pull him out of the room and into the corridor - all Hiccup was able to do was looking back over his shoulder to yell "bye your Highness!"

"What is it?" Jack asked, his eyes bright with curiosity. "A dragon?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "As if a full dragon will ever go here. That'd be crazy! I'm the only dragon for you today." He tried to do a little 'rawr' but feared it was far, far from intimidating. With just small patches of scales next to his ears, wings that didn’t even extend past his hands, and a tail that dragged on the floor, he didn't make for a very intimidating 'dragon'. 

"I heard the servants about the circus in town! They're performing every day in Cullimar's square. We gotta go see them! Cook Odie said there was this fire breather and she said he was really hot so you know he must be doing good fire tricks!"

"A circus?" Jack's eyes widened, a wide smile blooming on his face. Fire breathing? And maybe there would be some mages, and exotic animals and - it all sounded too good to be true. 

Then his entire frame dropped, along with his ears. "Of course they won't let me see it..." he sighed. "Remember last year? I begged and begged, and they wouldn't let me go even with the guards."

The location was definitely not... princeley. Cullimar's square wasn't in the slums or anything, but it wasn't a good part of the city either. It was for normal folk from normal families. But Hiccup had no problem getting there and back, so clearly, to him, this could not possibly be any problem. No no, the problem were those pesky guards that always tried to keep an eye on Jack. 

"Come on," he whispered, leaning in close to Jack. "We have outrun them before, and we can do it again. We know the palace better than anyone. We can run and hide, and then sneak out! Maybe cook Odie will help at the servant exit?"

With a determined face Jack nodded, squeezing Hiccup's hand tighter. He'd do anything for his friend, and Hic really really needed to see that fire breather! Considering how excited Hiccup was, so did he. 

"Lead the way, Hiccie!"

Hiccup beamed and squeezed back. Still leaning so close that only Jack could hear him, and not the guards at either end of the hallway, he whispered: "run for the gardens?"

"Yeah!" Jack nodded excitedly. 

They ran down the corridor, past the guards. If Jack had paid attention, he would have noticed the knowing smile on their faces, but all he was focused on was following Hiccup.

Hiccup picked up his tail so he wouldn't trip - or worse, slap Jack with it while running - and took the lead. He kept holding Jack's hand as much he could. At the edge of the gardens, he paused for just a few seconds, panting, to see if any guards were after them. Of course they were. They always were, because they'd get scolded if they didn't at least try, which made it more than a little funny to Hiccup. 

Then they shot into the garden, weaving between bushes and shrubs. It was sunny and warm, so the shade from the trees further back was more than welcome. He took Jack through the trees and towards the right, knowing they'd eventually end up near the kitchens if they kept that up. 

When they squeezed into the vegetable garden, Hiccup peeked through the beanstalks. Far away, he could see guards walking around the garden. They weren't even close.

"Nice, we did it!" said Hiccup. He turned to Jack with an excited little smile. "Now we just gotta get out of the castle. We can go through the kitchen... But there is always someone on guard duty at the last door."

Jack sighed, looking around. He rarely got so far on his own, and Hiccup was the expert in getting out of the castle, what could Jack suggest?

Hiccup smacked him with his wing, and Jack got a brilliant (in his opinion) idea. "You could fly over the wall?" he whispered, trying to keep an eye on the guards.

Hiccup frowned, looking sad. "I can't fly... my wings aren't strong." When he saw a flash of disappointment, though, he put on a brave face. "I'll try!" He put his feet part and braced himself. Knees bent slightly. Low centre of gravity. Back aimed up, towards the sky. He flapped once, twice... and then started to slap his wings up and down as hard and fast as he possibly could. 

"HNNNNNGGG!"

After just a few seconds with zero lift-off and just a nice cool breeze around his feet, he gave up.

Jack watched Hiccup flap his wings with an amazed smile, then gently pat Hiccup's back, just like his mom did to him whenever he failed at something.

"Sorry," Hiccup said sheepishly, completely out of breath.

"The most important thing is that you tried." He said with a serious look on his face. He hated to see Hiccup so defeated.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yes! Now we try something else. Let me peek who's on duty, stay here." 

He left his hiding spot, careful not to get seen by the guards in the distance, and walked into the kitchen. It was a busy flurry of activity there, as always, but he stayed out of the actual prep and cooking area. Instead he stuck to the hallway that led to the service entrance. He peeked around the corner and saw that Thorston was on duty. He was sitting at the little desk in the alcove, watching any who wanted in or out and writing their names in a big, heavy-looking book. 

Jack was sitting quietly behind the thick bushes, worrying his lip and wondering what plan Hiccup had - his friend was amazing with plans and new ideas, and he was eager to see how it would play out. 

Hiccup was also his only and dearest friend. He couldn't imagine living without the dragonborn at his side. Hiccup was brave and funny, and had cool wings! He was terrible at hide and seek, but Jack didn't care at all. He knew his mom also liked Hiccup a lot, and it was something that always made him warm when he thought about it.

Hiccup retreated to the kitchen, where luck struck him. He saw the cook-that-always-made-soup that he couldn't remember the name of. He did remember she likes Thorston and both will take more time than the Steward would like to hang around each other. With a shrewd grin, he took a coin out of his pocket to fiddle with innocently, pretending he'd just gotten it and couldn't wait to spend it, and walked up to her. 

"Odie, are we doing the root-soup or the- oh! What are you doing here, little dragon?"

He fidgeted with the coin and wiggled back and forth on his feet. "Thorston asked me to tell you something. He wanted to speak with you, and something about the circus in the city?" 

"Thorston did? He is so close, why did he send- oh, never mind. Dutiful doofus never leaves his post. Sarah, take over stirring for me for a second, will you? Help yourself to a cookie, little dragon, and off you go."

Hiccup grinned and bounced off, grabbed a cookie on his way out, and went to get Jack. He motioned hastily for him to come from the doorway. 

"Hurry! We have a few seconds!"

Jack brightened up when he saw how happy Hiccup was after running from the kitchen - clearly everything was going according to the plan. He bolted towards the door to join his friend, panting slightly, but still excited. They were going to the circus!

Hiccup led the young prince down the hallway, then held up his hand to pause. He peeked, and as he'd hoped, miss-I-cook-soup was standing at the desk, blocking Thorston from view completely. He grabbed his tail in one hand, cookie still in the other, and nodded at Jack. Then, as quietly as he could, he scurried out the archway, through a small, unguarded courtyard, and through the service door. 

Blood was pounding in Jack's ears, his heart beating wildly, as he tried his best to sneak along. Outside, Hiccup turned around to his friend, grinning broadly. "I can't believe that worked!"

Jack looked at his friend with his cheeks red, and heart fluttering in his chest. He was excited! They were being naughty, and getting away with it!

Hiccup looked left, then right, and started down the street towards the heart of the city. They had quite a walk, but the hard part was done now. He broke the cookie he'd gotten in two, then compared the two halves. He held out the biggest half to Jack. 

"Here, they gave me a cookie. Can you believe it? I tricked her and she gave me a cookie." He giggled.

Jack laughed, then looked at the cookie in his hand. "Thank you, Hiccie." He smiled sweetly.

They were out of the castle, on a street Jack rarely saw outside of the carriage, without a guard! He watched the people with wide eyes, and flushed when he realized some were staring at him. 

"Hiccup... Are we safe here?" He asked, grabbing Hiccup's hand again.

"Huh? Why wouldn't we be?" He chomped on his cookie half and took Jack's free hand. "This is uptown. My dad says nothing bad happens here."

"But...people are staring at us,” Jack whined, pressing against Hiccup. "And... I've never been here before without guards..." Then he realized he was acting like a scaredy cat, and flushed red in shame. Hiccup was his loyal guard, and Jack couldn't act like a helpless baby!

Hiccup puffed up his chest and squeezed Jack's hand. "I'm your guard! And people aren't staring at you, silly. They're staring at me. They do it everywhere I go." He flapped his wings. "They just never see someone flapping their wings, you know."

"Oh." Jack felt really dumb, and nodded. "You're right Hiccie, as always!" He laughed, poking Hiccup's side - Hiccup yelped and jumped at the poke, but laughed. "And I hope one day your wings will get bigger... How big do you think they will be?" He asked, tugging on Hiccup's hand to start walking.

"I don't know. My dad said mom's wings were as wide as his office! I hope mine get so big so I can fly over the walls. I hope my tail stops growing." It was dragging over the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. 

Jack opened his mouth in shock, staring at Hiccup's tiny wings - he had been to Stoick's office, and it was huge. And he loved Hiccup's tail, it always peeked out from Hiccup's hiding place. 

"This way!" Hiccup took a right before they got to the main street that led away from the palace. Hiccup's father, Black Vanguard Captain Stoick the Vast, lived in the lusher parts of the city on account of his rank. Even though he spent 99% of his time in the barracks, Hiccup knew his way around here well. 

Jack followed Hiccup obediently, still holding his hand and looking around with wide eyes. The city looked completely different from the perspective of an eight years old boy, and Jack had no idea whether he liked it or not.

Suddenly, Hiccup stopped and turned to Jack.

"You don't go out of the palace often, right? We always play within the walls. Do you go out at all?"

Jack flushed red in embarrassment, worried what Hiccup would think if he told him the truth. But... Hiccup laughed only at his miserable attempts at drawing. Maybe... Maybe he wouldn't ridicule him much. It wasn't like Jack could stand up to the king!

"I... I've never been to the city. Like... Never walked down the street like this. I'm always in the carriage,” he whined, not looking at Hiccup.

Hiccup grinned broadly. His friend was embarrassed, but he didn't understand how excellent this was. Because this meant he's never had...

"Cheese-sticks! You've never had cheese-sticks from Faelis bakery!" He tried to look very serious. "Those are an important part of your kingdom, your highness. It is super super important you taste them."

Jack looked at Hiccup with wide, curious eyes, his ears perking up. "Oooh..." he stepped closer and pushed his chest out, his face as serious as it could get. "I can't ignore my princely duties, can I? Lead the way, sir Hiccup!"

Laughing, Hiccup took a little detour, right to Fealis. 

"It's not actually cheese on a stick, you know. He just calls it that." They took a right, following a pretty busy street. Hiccup was getting more stares, but he ignored it. He was used to it. "It's sweet bread, but there is cheese inside and outside. Like, double cheese! So good!"

With each word from Hiccup's mouth, Jack was getting hungrier. Plus, double cheese! Jack had to taste it. No matter the price. Oh... Right. He didn't have any money on himself. 

They then had to leave the busy main roads, taking a left. Then past the well, and Mister Grubson's shop and… Hiccup paused.

"I'm not sure if it was right here, or further down."

"What...? Are we lost?" Jack looked at him, panicked.

"Of course not, I'm never lost!" Hiccup boasted. "Just... pausing tactically." 

Jack felt way calmer now that he was sure Hiccup knew where they were - confidence was radiating off the little dragon, and Jack basked in it, eagerly following, already salivating at the thought of cheesy goodness…

Hiccup didn't want to spook Jack, so he just went on and took the second right, hoping feverishly he was correct. 

He was not. But the bright side was, he did know the way from there, so they did arrive at Fealis in a few minutes. Or at least they would have, if a poshly dressed woman hadn't stepped in front of them. 

"What are you doing here?!" she demanded. Her tone had equal parts surprise and demanding authority.

Jack was wondering whether the woman was talking about Hiccup, him, or both of them. She didn't look like the barbarians in the books his mother read to him, so maybe she wouldn't kill them? Jack hoped so. 

He squeezed Hiccup's hand tightly, stepping behind him - but he realized he was acting like a coward. His dad would be so disappointed.

Hiccup didn't recognize the woman either, but she sure seemed to recognize them. She was blatantly ignoring Hiccup, which in his opinion, was a big mistake. When she tried to reach past him, he snarled with the ferocity of a lion whelp. He launched himself at her arm and bit her hand, wildly clawing and flapping his wings.

Jack panicked. Some witch just tried to grab him, Hiccup bit her (which looked really cool) and the woman pulled his other hand away to probably hit Hiccup - Jack would not allow it to happen. 

He kicked the woman as hard as he could, hitting right under her knee, pain blooming in his toes - but he ignored it completely. He had to save Hiccup, so he kicked once again just to be sure.

"Ah motherf- calm down!" The blond woman took a limping step back, shaking a painful hand. "Gods curse you, boy, I'm bleeding!" 

Hiccup snarled and stood in front of Jack again, spreading his wings as far as they would go. Which wasn't very far, but still.

"Stay away from my prince!"

"Yes, announce who he is more loudly, would you?" said their 'attacker'. "Let the whole neighbourhood know. Stand down or I will call the city guard, Henry Horrendous Haddock the Third!"

Hiccup folded his wings, but stayed on his guard. "You know me?"

"Of course I do. And you!" She pointed at Jack. "What on earth are you doing here, foolish boy?!"

Jack paled, but then stepped in front of Hiccup, his head raised. 

"It was my idea to come here! If you want to punish someone, punish me." 

Inside he was shaking. He knew that his father would be livid if he got to know about it, and Hiccup's dad... It wouldn't be pretty. The woman seemed to think for a second. they wondered how she didn't look very lady-like, but they didn't dare say anything. 

"Since your bodyguard here defended you so bravely... I won't tell. One one condition. You two are coming back to the castle with me right now. Deal?"

Jack deflated but nodded, grabbing Hiccup's hand after a few seconds, and he stepped away from the woman. "Who are you? How do I know you won't hurt us?"

"Because I am Helga Sinclair, and I work for your father, young prince."

"Prove it!" demanded Hiccup.

"Do you want me to tell his highness how you hurt yourself jumping into the fighting ring last week?"

Hiccup visibly deflated. "Please don't. We should go back, Jack."

Jack watched his friend get smaller all of a sudden, and it broke his little heart. Immeasurable hate for that blonde witch filled him, and he wished he kicked her twice as hard.

But he listened to Hiccup, pulling him closer. He now understood why Hiccup had been limping for some time, but he didn't want to get to know about it from Helga.

Helga led them both back to the castle, but true to her word, she did not report then, nor did she lead them through the main gate. She took the service entrance, where Thorston did not stop her. He rose when he saw Jack and Hiccup following meekly, but one sharp look from Helga made him swallow whatever he was about to say. Probably in his best interest too, since he was the one that let them sneak by in the first place.

Once inside, Helga stepped into the shade of some fruit trees, opposite of the vegetable garden they'd snuck through a little while ago.

"You take good care of your prince, young Haddock," she said. "Keep it so. But you'd take even better care of him by never, ever again trying to 'escape' from the palace grounds. And you-" she fixed Jack with an aggressive look "- shouldn't let him endanger you. Have I made myself clear?"

Jack bristled under the sharp look, his fists squeezing - he felt like lashing out, but the praise for Hiccup made him relax a bit. Yes, Hiccup was a great friend and an amazing warrior, that was true.

He nodded, his eyes stormy, and pressed himself against Hiccup.

"Good. Now run, I'm busy." She waved, and it was her bitten hand. She didn't seem bothered at all by the blood running down her fingers, which really freaked Hiccup out.

Hiccup grabbed Jack's hand and ran off, hoping his friend would keep up.

They stopped only when they were sure Helga couldn't see them anymore, and Jack smiled cheekily. "We showed her huh?" But his ears quickly dropped. "Are you alright though? Do your teeth hurt? You bit her pretty badly..."

"Yeah I'm all... riffft." His sentence was cut short by his own tongue poking at his teeth. "Oh I lofst a tooth." He grinned at Jack, showing what was probably a gap.

Jack's eyes were wide as he watched the gap curiously. It was one of the fangs too!

"Will it grow back into a fang?" He asked, pushing one of his own teeth that would surely fall out soon.

"I think so!" Hiccup kept poking at the gap with his tongue distractedly. It tasted a little like blood, but not much. "I don't think I lost this one before. It's okay!"

"Amazing!" Jack grinned. "Does your mom also have fangs?"

"I never asked dad... but she must have!" he declared proudly. 

"Woahhh..." Jack was actually amazed. He wished he met Hiccup's mom - he was sure she looked amazing!

Hiccup grinned again, then bumped shoulders with his friend. "Are you okay?"

"I am." He gently pushed Hiccup. "But why didn't you tell me you got hurt last week?"

Hiccup looked at his feet. "Because it was dumb," he mumbled.

"But you got into the training arena!" Jack was neatly shaking with excitement. "I was never allowed even close to it! How is it?"

"Well they have like... higher up... benches? For soldiers to watch sparring I think. I was up there, so I saw the training ring. They were doing sword-drills with a group of Vanguard. I don't think I can sneak you in though..."

"Don't worry about it." Jack smiled. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble again because of me." He sighed softly, but then perked up. "I found a great place for napping! Want to see it?"

"Yes!" Glad for the change of topic, Hiccup was all ears.

Jack smiled and took Hiccup's hand. "Now you follow me."

He pulled Hiccup further into the gardens, past the sheds with tools, past the bushes of wild roses his mother loved, and finally, after carefully walking through a herb garden (he knew first-hand how useful those were) he pulled Hiccup into his new hiding place.

It was a sunny spot, surrounded by willow trees on three sides, the south side open, making it a perfect place to nap. At least so Jack thought. 

"And... What do you think?" Jack asked, suddenly unsure. Hiccup's opinion was very, very important. 

Hiccup looked around, pretending to be a true sun-nap expert. He hummed and mumbled and prodded the ground. He squinted into the sun and ran a hand through the long grass. Jack was biting his lip, wringing his hands in worry. Hiccup was the best in finding the best hiding and napping spots, so his opinion mattered a lot. 

Then he stood, gravely declaring to Jack: "Excellent spot. It is worthy of you, your highness."

"Amazing!" Jack brightened, clapping his hands. "But is it worthy of you, sir Hiccup?"

"Of course, Frosti!" Hiccup beamed, having given up on the formal pretending. He plopped down on the grass. It tickled his tail, and he rubbed it around.

"The standard is higher for you. You're the prince, and I'm your knight, duh."

Jack sat next to Hiccup and bumped him with his arm. "But you're my dearest friend! I love you, Hiccie. And if you love someone, you want the best for them. That's what mom says."

Hiccup blushed. "I love you too, and I promise that's not because you're my only friend." 

"You're my only friend too, Hiccie. But even if I had an army of friends, I'd still love only you."

Hiccup lay down and pulled on Jack's arm so he'd lie with him - the prince made himself comfortable against Hiccup, careful not to squeeze his wings. They mavouvred a bit until Hic was mostly on his side, wings out of the way. They'd start to hurt if he slept on them wrong. He was snuggled up against his friend, with an arm over Jack's tummy and Jack's chest as a pillow. 

Together, they relaxed in the sun. Jack, without thinking about it, started to play with Hiccup's auburn mane.

"You know," mumbled Hiccup. "I didn't tell you I got hurt because it was dumb. The Vanguard laughed at me."

Jack’s face darkened. "When I'm the king, nobody will dare to laugh at you,” he murmured.

Hiccup giggled. "I'll have to grow a little bigger first."

"But what happened?" Jack asked, his brows furrowed.

"I wanted to practice flying but my bed was too low. I jumped down the benches I told you about. I still didn't fly. Hurt my leg."

Jack's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea how high the benches were, but Hiccup was limping for a few days... so it had to be pretty high above the ground.

"I'm glad you're okay now, Hiccie. Wish I could be there at least, to see." He giggled.

Hiccup poked Jack's side a few times. "So in your kingdom only you can laugh at me, huh, is that what you say?"

Jack laughed, wiggling under the onslaught. "Yes! That's what I'm saying - I'm your friend!"

Hiccup tickled him harder, laughing. "Then I will surprise tickle you every chance! Important meeting? Tickle! Dinner feast? Tickle!"

Jack burst out laughing and squealing, trying to get away - but Hiccup was way stronger than him. 

"I beg for mercy, sir Hiccup! Please, spare your prince!"

Hiccup suddenly stopped. "Okay!" He lay down on Jack again and fake-snored loudly.

Jack could finally catch a breath, but he immediately giggled at Hiccup's antics. "You're heavyyy..." he whined.

"But you're comfy to sleep on!"

He lay next to Jack properly, still more than a little snuggled against his friend, and closed his eyes. He sighed. It really was a good sleeping spot. 

"This is nice..."

"It is." Jack smiled, leaning into Hiccup more. "I want to stay here with you for the entire day."

"Sounds good to me," mumbled Hiccup. "You're a comfy pillow."

"I'm the bestest, comfiest pillow, Hiccie." Jack declared proudly.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hiccup woke up to movement, still snugly lying against his little friend. He looked up just as the Queen sat down next to her son. 

"Good afternoon, Henry," she said with a smile. 

Hiccup sat up right and yawned, stretching long and broad. His wings vibrated a little from the tension. "Good afternoon, your Highjesty. Majesty. Your majesty." He blushed, but the Queen laughed.

She had a soft spot for the little boy who was always ready to defend her son, and made him smile like nobody else. She could only hope it would stay that way - Jack would need someone trustworthy once he became a king. 

And Hiccup seemed happier too since he met Jack. He wasn't hiding behind Stoick with that unsure look in his eyes anymore.

"I hope you slept well, little dragon." She smiled, pushing Jack's fringe out of his eyes, then reached to tousle Hiccup's hair. 

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, I did, your Majesty."

"I'm glad to hear that, Henry." She tapped his nose gently, but the movement made Jack stir and groan. 

"I don't want to get up yet..." he whined, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Frosti, it's almost sunset," deadpanned Hiccup. "Get up, sleepyhead."

Jack opened his eyes and looked first at his mother, who smiled even wider, then at Hiccup. It took him a long while to understand where he was, but when he did, he sat up quickly. 

"Oh no, we wasted so much time to play..." he whined, but then he stretched with a loud yawn, nearly hitting Hiccup's wing. "Oh, sorry!"

Hiccup's wing did a little flappy, and its owner giggled at Jack. "I think we spent the day just right."

"Well rested for tonight's festivity, methinks," said the Queen.

Jack looked at her curiously, trying to remember any festivity he could forget about. No, he wasn't the one to forget about festivities.

"What festivity?"

"Your father heard about these wonderful performers visiting the city. I suppose you wouldn't know of those, but..." she gave Hiccup a look. "He invited them to perform in the castle. They sent down a few performers for an after-dinner show."

Both boys gasped, staring first at the Queen, then at each other. 

"Is it for real? You're not joking mom, are you? Please, please tell me you're not joking!"

Queen Ceri laughed, and shook her head, seeing the look on the boy's faces. "I'm not joking, I promise. But you two must promise me to be on your best behavior!"

"I can come too?" Hiccup asked excitedly. "I mean - uh - your majesty?"

"Yes, you are invited to join us, Henry," said Queen Ceri. 

Hiccup grabbed Jack's arm and shook him. "We get to see the circus! Jack they're coming! We'll be better behaved than, than, than.... master Dingwall's dogs, I promise!"

Jack was nearly crying of happiness, not bothered in the slightest by the way Hiccup shook him - he was way too focused on the prospect of seeing the circus to notice the looks Hiccup was getting from the ladies in waiting. 

"We will!" Jack yelled, shaking Hiccup as well. "And there will be the firebreather!"

The Queen smiled. "We shall see. They sent a small group just for us, who knows what's among them. Now, let's get you freshened up before dinner." She stood up. "You can come along too, Henry."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"-and, and the fire juggler! Hiccup, the fire juggler!" Jack was bouncing on the bed, too excited to even think about sleeping. They both hadn't even eaten that much, too engrossed by the entertainment. 

"Do you think you can, like, spit fire?" He stilled to look at Hiccup with wide, curious eyes.

"Definitely! But maybe he didn't because he only does that if he's in danger! I would!" 

Hiccup was equally jumpy in Jack's bed. "And the acrobats doing the jumping and and and the flip like woaaah!" He jumped from the bed onto the floor, flapping his wings wildly.

Jack nodded, nearly shaking with excitement. "And the dancers! But the fire juggler! He just... There was so much fire!"

He pulled Hiccup back onto the bed, laughing. "I wish I could join them - imagine us in the circus!"

"I'd learn to fly and do air tricks! With flaming rings to fly through! And you could dance and juggle the fire and it's so cool! We'd be the best circus there is! Do you think you could dance like those ladies?"

Jack had to think for a moment, then shook his head. "No... I don't like to dance that much. But I could learn to juggle with the fire stuff!"

They flopped onto the bed, Jack still smiling. "Today was... Awesome! Thanks to you, Hiccup. And you defended me!" He poked the dragonborn with a laugh. "You're my valiant knight, Hiccup."

Hiccup flexed his little arms. "Yes I am!"

Queen Ceri came in, a warm smile on her face. She was followed by Lisa, Jack's primary caretaker and servant. 

"I see you two are still in high spirits," she said. "But I think it's time to settle down for the night, don't you?"

Jack whined loudly, but to be completely honest, he did feel tired. But still a bit bouncy. Just a bit.

And mostly, he didn't want to part with Hiccup. He knew Hiccup had to go back to his father's quarters, but... 

"Come here, Hiccup." The Queen smiled, opening her arms with a smile. "I'd like to thank you for defending my son so bravely today. At a great personal cost too!" She pointed at one of her own teeth.

Hiccup grinned, showing off the gap. "She had it coming!" He hopped into the Queen's arms, and the full meaning of her words didn't register until he pulled away and jumped down the bed. He froze and turned back to her.

"How did you know what happened?!"

The Queen laughed, not even trying to hide it. 

"Let's just say I have my ways, little _ango_." She bopped his nose with her finger, and Jack laughed. "But it's late. You need to sleep, so tomorrow you can go on another adventure... Behind the castle walls, of course!"

Jack pulled Hiccup into a tight hug, closing his eyes and smiling. He was so happy Hiccup was in his life.

Hiccup hugged back, also wrapping his tail around his friend's back. 

"See you tomorrow, Frosti!"

The Queen pet both their heads. "I shall call for an escort for you, Henry. It's dark out."

Hiccup tried to make himself big, keeping his wings folded but raising them, like the dragon equivalent of shrugging. He pretended to not care at all about walking home alone in the dark. "I am a brave knight! I don't need an escort!"

"Then I shall find someone who needs an escort... Do you think you're up for that task?" The Queen said seriously.

"I could escort any servant to safety! Or any prince! But I don't suppose it makes sense for me to escort Jack..."

"Right outside is mister Jörgenson Senior. He's on guard duty right now," started Queen Ceri. She leaned closer and whispered to the boys. "I think he's afraid of the dark though. Maybe you can escort him, Henry?"

Henry saluted. "Where to, your Majesty?"

Jack started to wiggle in his place. "Could I also escort him? Please, Your Majesty, please." He made the biggest puppy eyes he could.

"Another day, Jackson." She smiled softly. "I think mister Jörgenson will immediately guess you two are escorting him. We need to be secretive." 

"Okayyy..." Jack whined, and pulled Hiccup into another hug.

The little dragonling nuzzled Jack's cheek, then waved to him and the Queen, and left, ready for his very serious escort duty. Jörgenson senior must have wondered why this little boy told him not to be afraid when they walked to the Black Vanguard barracks.

**Author's Note:**

> Dingwall was one of the chieftains (?) in Brave. Dunno if he had dogs, but Ferguson was already taken in this universe, otherwise we would have made him the dogmaster.
> 
> Queen Ceri is an OC to flesh out the cast - we ran out of disney characters to throw in there, sue me - and has no connection to The Witcher's Ciri.
> 
> Lol never thought I'd write a fic with Helga Sinclair in it, but here we go. She's the spy-master for King North.


End file.
